Many organizations rely upon data replication to improve the reliability, fault-tolerance, and/or accessibility of their applications and/or data. Data replication typically involves replicating data from a source site (e.g., a backup image) or device to a target site or device.
Traditional replication systems may also write metadata that describes a volume of data to be replicated to the volume of data such that the metadata may be replicated with the volume of data. Accordingly, a system at the target site of the replication may use the metadata to correctly interpret, organize, use, and/or manage the replicated volume of data. However, some organizations may wish to replicate a snapshot of a live volume of data (e.g., to a disaster recovery site). Unfortunately, a replication system may not have access to write the metadata to the live volume.
Additionally, some replication schemes may include cascading replication (e.g., a replica copy being replicated, in turn, to a third site). Organizations may, furthermore, wish to form expiration policies for a replica of a volume that depend on the state of other replicas of the volume.
Accordingly, the instant disclosure identifies and addresses a need for additional and improved systems and methods for replicating snapshots across backup domains.